Harry Potter 01 - Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

would yeh mind not mentionin’ it at Hogwarts?’
    ‘Of course not,’ said Harry, eager to see more magic. Hagrid pulled out the pink umbrella again, tapped it twice on the side of the boat and they sped off towards land.
    ‘Why would you be mad to try and rob Gringotts?’ Harry asked.
    ‘Spells – enchantments,’ said Hagrid, unfolding his newspaper as he spoke. ‘They say there’s dragons guardin’ the high-security vaults. And then yeh gotta find yer way – Gringotts is hundreds of miles under London, see. Deep under the Underground. Yeh’d die of hunger tryin’ ter get out, even if yeh did manage ter get yer hands on summat.’
    Harry sat and thought about this while Hagrid read his newspaper, the Daily Prophet . Harry had learnt from Uncle Vernon that people liked to be left alone while they did this, but it was very difficult, he’d never had so many questions in his life.
    ‘Ministry o’ Magic messin’ things up as usual,’ Hagrid muttered, turning the page.
    ‘There’s a Ministry of Magic?’ Harry asked, before he could stop himself.
    ‘’Course,’ said Hagrid. ‘They wanted Dumbledore fer Minister, o’ course, but he’d never leave Hogwarts, so old Cornelius Fudge got the job. Bungler if ever there was one. So he pelts Dumbledore with owls every morning, askin’ fer advice.’
    ‘But what does a Ministry of Magic do? ’
    ‘Well, their main job is to keep it from the Muggles that there’s still witches an’ wizards up an’ down the country.’
    ‘Why?’
    ‘Why? Blimey, Harry, everyone’d be wantin’ magic solutions to their problems. Nah, we’re best left alone.’
    At this moment the boat bumped gently into the harbour wall. Hagrid folded up his newspaper and they clambered up the stone steps on to the street.
    Passers-by stared a lot at Hagrid as they walked through the little town to the station. Harry couldn’t blame them. Not only was Hagrid twice as tall as anyone else, he kept pointing at perfectly ordinary things like parking meters and saying loudly, ‘See that, Harry? Things these Muggles dream up, eh?’
    ‘Hagrid,’ said Harry, panting a bit as he ran to keep up, ‘did you say there are dragons at Gringotts?’
    ‘Well, so they say,’ said Hagrid. ‘Crikey, I’d like a dragon.’
    ‘You’d like one?’
    ‘Wanted one ever since I was a kid – here we go.’
    They had reached the station. There was a train to London in five minutes’ time. Hagrid, who didn’t understand ‘Muggle money’, as he called it, gave the notes to Harry so he could buy their tickets.
    People stared more than ever on the train. Hagrid took up two seats and sat knitting what looked like a canary-yellow circus tent.
    ‘Still got yer letter, Harry?’ he asked as he counted stitches.
    Harry took the parchment envelope out of his pocket.
    ‘Good,’ said Hagrid. ‘There’s a list there of everything yeh need.’
    Harry unfolded a second piece of paper he hadn’t noticed the night before and read:
     
    HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY
     
    Uniform
    First-year students will require:
    1. Three sets of plain work robes (black)
    2. One plain pointed hat (black) for day wear
    3. One pair of protective gloves (dragon hide or similar)
    4. One winter cloak (black, silver fastenings)
    Please note that all pupils’ clothes should carry name tags
     
    Set Books
    All students should have a copy of each of the following:
    The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1) by Miranda Goshawk
    A History of Magic by Bathilda Bagshot
    Magical Theory by Adalbert Waffling
    A Beginner’s Guide to Transfiguration by Emeric Switch
    One Thousand Magical Herbs and Fungi by Phyllida Spore
    Magical Drafts and Potions by Arsenius Jigger
    Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them by Newt Scamander
    The Dark Forces: A Guide to Self-Protection by Quentin Trimble
     
    Other Equipment
    1 wand
    1 cauldron (pewter, standard size 2)
    1 set glass or crystal phials
    1 telescope
    1 set brass scales
     
    Students may also bring an owl OR a cat OR a toad
     
    PARENTS ARE REMINDED THAT FIRST-YEARS ARE NOT ALLOWED THEIR OWN BROOMSTICKS
     
    ‘Can we buy all this in London?’ Harry wondered aloud.
    ‘If yeh know where to go,’ said Hagrid.
    *
    Harry had never been to London before. Although Hagrid seemed to know where he was going, he was obviously not used to getting there in an ordinary way. He got stuck in the ticket barrier on the Underground and complained loudly that the seats were too small and the